(Conclusions made by Prophet Pearl Sponsors Jeff and Melissa Willey, Timnath, CO)
Ezekiel 43:
• This week’s haftorah shares part of what Adonai is revealing to Ezekiel regarding the temple and the alter. In order to really understand this section, one must read what Ezekiel is experiencing before and after. Immediately before, we see the glory of the God of Israel come in through the east gate, and then after this section we see Ezekiel 44:2-3 “2The LORD said to me, “This gate is to remain shut. It must not be opened; no one may enter through it. It is to remain shut because the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered through it. 3 The prince himself is the only one who may sit inside the gateway to eat in the presence of the LORD. He is to enter by way of the portico of the gateway and go out the same way.” So, Ezekiel is being told very clearly who is running this show, and what exactly needs to occur regarding this temple.
• Adonai wants Ezekiel to make it very clear that this new Bais Hamikdash has a purpose and meaning. It is to remind them of how sinful and foolish they were in the past. The perfection of the temple will cause them to feel embarrassed and ashamed of their past actions, and to be a reminder of the sins that occurred when the 1st temple was destroyed.
• For some Christians, they do not believe that sacrifices will be restored, however, here in Ezekiel, it is clearly stated that it will. If this temple has not yet been built, and it has not, then one must realize the significance and importance of Ezekiel’s details about present offerings correctly. Ezekiel 40:39-39 discuss how to do animal sacrifices. There will be sacrifices for the year, the month, the week, and the day, in addition to those for the three remaining Levitical Feasts, Passover – Unleavened Bread, and Tabernacles. These are all discussed in detail in Ezekiel 45:13 – 46:15. Zechariah 14:16-19 discusses the consequences of not going to Jerusalem in the millennial time to celebrate the Feasts.
1st Bais Hamikdash:
• One must understand the time frame when Ezekiel is hearing this information. Ezekiel 40:1- Ezekiel is being spoken to on the very day that you are to choose your lamb or goat for the Passover- “at the beginning of the year, on the tenth of the month…” Interesting timing on Adonai’s part!
• One must take note, that Ezekiel is talking about another temple being built, but the 1st temple has only been destroyed 14 years earlier. Ezekiel 40:1- “In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth of the month, in the fourteenth year after the fall of the city—on that very day the hand of the LORD was on me and he took me there.”
• The 1st temple was built by King Solomon on Mount Moriah in 927 BCE. Once Solomon was killed for his indiscretions, in 796 BCE, Israel was split into 2 (Israel and Judah).
• In 661, Zechariah gave prophetic warnings of punishments from Adonai if they continued to sin. He was stoned to death in the Temple courtyard on Yom Kippur, and it was said his blood bubbled for 252 years in that spot. It finally stopped when the temple was destroyed.
• In 463, Jeremiah is giving prophetic warnings about the Babylonians coming to destroy them is they didn’t stop worshipping idols. He was imprisoned by Jehoiakim 18 years before the fall of the temple, and during that time, Jeremiah wrote the book of Lamentations, giving further warnings to Israel.
• On the 10th day of Tevet, 425 BCE, Nebuchadnezzar takes siege over Jerusalem. 30 months later, in the month of Tammuz, his army is able to get in. On the 7th day of Av, Jerusalem is destroyed. On the 9th day of Av, the Temple was set on fire, and it burned for 24 hours.
• So, why isn’t he giving the people of Israel the instructions to the 2nd temple? He is referring to a temple that definitely was not like the 2nd one built 70 years after the fall of the 1st temple. Ezekiel 43:6-7 “While the man was standing beside me, I heard someone speaking to me from inside the temple. 7 He said: “Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place for the soles of my feet. This is where I will live among the Israelites forever. The people of Israel will never again defile my holy name—neither they nor their kings—by their prostitution and the funeral offerings for their kings at their death.” This temple is meant for the dwelling of the spirit to reside in forever.
When will Ezekiel’s Temple be built?
• This is a tricky question! Our group has done several years of studies on Revelation. Some people say that Ezekiel’s temple will be the Millennial temple. However, if you look closely at scripture in Revelation, it says differently.
• Revelation 21:1-4. “Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
• Revelation 21:15-17. “The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. 16 The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long. 17 The angel measured the wall using human measurement, and it was 144 cubits thick.”
• Revelation 21:22. “I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.”
• If we go back a few chapters we see in Revelation 11:1-2 “I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, with its worshipers. 2 But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months.”
• What is John measuring here in Revelation 11? It says there is a temple… Could he be measuring to see if it was made with the specifications that Ezekiel shared with us?
• So, it appears that the temple described by Ezekiel must be built before the Millennial Kingdom begins. Ezekiel’s temple will most likely also be destroyed by one of the many massive earthquakes that are described in Revelation 16:18-21. “Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since mankind has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake. 19 The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath. 20 Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found. 21 From the sky huge hailstones, each weighing about a hundred pounds, fell on people. And they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible.”
• So, one could conclude that Ezekiel’s temple must be built before the “Tribulation” can begin. You can also conclude that Adonai wanted to give Ezekiel and his people hope for the future that even though the 1st temple was destroyed, he will, in his time, allow his people to have a safe place to be to be able to worship him.